Magazine for automatic firearms



| n umili AW' 14 1945 G. lRoNslDE 2,381,959

MAGAZINE FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed oct. 20, 1941 Wfl l Patented Aug. 14, 1945 George Ironside, Hartford, Conni, Iassignor ,to Colts .Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of 'Connecticut ApplicationOctoher 20, 1ML-SerialNo.1415757 (cuss-34) 5 Claims. "This 4invention relates to magazines `iorautov. matic irearrns.

:More particularly, it relates lto' improvements iinmagazines for automatic firearms vof themachine gun type, such as illustrated, for example,

--invll S. Patent No. 1,293-021 to Browning.

. One of'the objects of the invention isfto'fpro- Jvide :a magazine .accommodating Ya maximum iamount of cartridgesiin aminimum amount of espace adjacent ithe firearm `Wherebythe magazine and rearm may bereadily utilizedin places lwhere useful space is -atf-a premium.

.Another lobject oftheinventi'on i-sto provideia yholderfor'sa magazine box-which vis of ysimpliiied construction yet eiiicientzand 'sturdy. fAlso, the design .is `such that taccidental removal of the magazine'fbox `is prevented whileat lthe sameritime, the box may be'qulickly inserted in-or removed vfrom the supporting `means provided therefor.

f 'Other objects fof the invention -will -become'apparent :from studying the Ilfollowing :specification in conjunction with the drawing which `forms an integral partthereof.

The accompanying :drawing Ashows the Vem ebodiment'ofthe invention which is'deemed pref- -erable,. but-it will 'be `understood-that the drawing is Aintended 'for illustrative purposes -onlyand is 'not to -beconstr-ued as deningfonli-miting the zscope ofthe invention, the claims forming vapart of this :speciiication being relied upon for that purpose.

:In the drawing,

"Fig. Ilis a perspective Viewof vthe improved magazine `attached to -a machine gun of the Browning type; y

' Fig. '2is a side-elevation lof the'frame-for sup- .Fig. 3 is an end-elevation of said'frame; Fig. iis a side elevation 1of the magazine box; and

i5-is an end elevation of 'the magazine'box f with 'the lidof't-he box partly opened.

'ftypes-o'f magazines' f or-suc'h"rearrns. The instant invention has .been :perfected :to :utilize :a fsmall amount offree space-favailableimmediately:below :the .breech -,casing 7of .a imachine gunin a tank or cotherzss'imilar device.

InethedrawingY as .shown particularlyfiniliig. 1,

:a.pluralityfofgmembersare. joinedcto form aiframe .l0 'arranged :to :depend ffrom :the breech casing lf2 .-,of an :automatic rrearm, .fsuch .as ya ABltouming ,'maohinegun forgexample. YThe frame i- Iiiiszse- .of ithis inventionrami1the,illustratedrattachment of the same to the breeGhccasinafis-hy waymf #example only.

In order-:that :the feed :of eaaoartrtige zbeitiifrom -the magazinefmay he asrf'reersas possible `:and-.no Aunusual f twisting :of fthe cartridge pwbelt may take pla-ce, the frame1Mliis-preferably-.yertically aligned .with the conventionaltfeedcohannel: I 8in the `side -of the lbreech :casing-offsaidxfirearmawherebytthe :.belt of `:cartridges ziszfed vupward yfrom 'the `r`magazzine to :the Arfeed:channel f| 8 into 'whichitheioe'lt is pulled orffedsioy :the.fconventionalffbelt feeding .mechanism .illustrated in said Browning j'Patent .;1;293,021 .whichmechanismiincludestheebelt' en- The ,frame 1:0 is .chieiiyacomposed of twowU- `shaped ."bail :members 22 which zare wadapted l:.to

.have trici-rends directly:fattachedetdthezsideplates I 4' of the .breech casingiy ibolts rlrpassingrlthrough suitable apert-uresi24 :in zears 12,6 )formed on :fthe endsof the bail .mem-bers 22. .,The planeseofithe .ears .26 are. parallel tof, sai-d1side rpla-tes.

:Proj ceti-ng` longitudma-ilyl l`from each aside member of one of said bail members .2'21fiszanexten- `.sion ..2-.8. .Eachwextension is aadjacentzfthe eend of each ,.of.,.said.1side\ members andhas am aperture vthereethroug-h 4adapted to receive z a fshaft 1x30.

wSadyshaftll Iisrat;present illustrated'in the form .,osfcan elongated vrholt passing ffbetweenfthe-textensions 28 and secured in the extensionsfbyrai suitable m1115132. Revolvablyemounted for lfre -rota- .tion ontheshaft stan elongated 'rollen-,34. The .cartridge ,belt ..36 vpartially passes :around said roller Ifor the purpose of .reducing .ffrictionin uvfeeding the cartridge-belt: to LAthe f breech: opening .Y

l'B. LEig. 1, the belts is :illustrated wasea veer-1- ventional canvasbelt but it ist@ be understood Lthat anyother suitable ytxgpe ,-of\1.belt,eesuchas :an articulated .flink belt ,for i example, .will -.operate in the magazine herein illustrated and described.

-.shown in Fig..2. `the box may only befinserted into the frame far enough to be properly positioned', following which,

The lower, horizontal portions of the bail members 22 support a tray-like, quadrangular base member 38 aiixed thereto, which base member is inthe nature of a suspended platform adapted to receive the bottom face of a generally rectangular cartridge box 48 and hold the box in operative. position. The transverse dimensions of the base member 38 are substantially'the same as the bottom face of the box which engages and is supported by said base member. Base member. 38 is formed with upstanding sides 42 on the edges of two sides and one end in order to properly align the cartridge box thereon` VIn effect, the opposite longest edge portions ofsaid base member, in conjunction withftheir Yrespective upstanding sides 42 may be considered as a pair of parallel iguideways, extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the gun,l adapted to support the cartridge box. The upstanding side 42 on the end of the base member constitutes a stop to limit insertion ofthe box inthe frame.

The `cartridge 'box-is adapted to `be. inserted into the frame through oneopen-face or. end and between the sides of the bails v22.onto base member 38from the right-hand side, as viewed inl Fig. "2.. vThe:above-mentioned open end or face .of the frame is at the right-hand'side of Fig. 2.

To facilitate the insertion and removal of said box, the right-hand edge ofbase member 38 is vshown to have an upstanding side 44 which is not i" the ends of. said side members of the bail, as

shown inFigs. 1-3. Said horizontal bars extend beyond one of the bail members a sufficient distance .to have the extending. ends vertically u aligned with the corresponding end of the base member, as shown in Fig. 2. Said extending ends -of the horizontalbars. have `projections 48 turned inward toward each other, which projections -serve as stop members for the box when the same is being inserted from the right-hand side as .'llhus,` due to projections 48,

the 'box will drop onto the'base memberl 38 between the upstanding sides 42 and 44. The pro- ;jections 48 in effect,` supplementv the aligning function of sides 42 and 44 and prevent moving the boxclear through the frame when being inserted therein.

'. at one of its ends to the upper `edgeV Of, one end of the box by a suitable pin'52 passing through aligned openings in the sides` 54 `of the closure` and the sides of the box. The pin is held in place by an outward extending, curved spring finger 53 mounted on the free end thereof as shown in Fig. 5. Such detachable locking means permits ready insertion and removal of the pin from the box and closure. The sides 54 each have an aperture 56 formed therein adapted to receive rounded projections 58 pressed outward from the sides of the box 4D and adapted to releasably hold the closure in closed position on the box.

As shown in Fig. 4, the closure 5D does not extend the full length of the box, the non-pivoted end thereof terminating short of the end of the box nearest thereto. Said non-pivoted end is curved upward, as shown at 68, to facilitate ready feeding of the belt from the magazine Without undue binding.

As shown in Fig. 1, the upward curved end 60 of the box closure 50 is below and closely adjacent the roller 34 when the box is in operative position in the frame, whereby the curved surfaces of closure end 60 and roller 34 supplement each other to effect a smooth composite surfaceover which the belt 36 passes to. the feed channel The upper part of the end' of the box .adjacent the curved portion 60 is cutout as shown at 62, see Fig. 5, which cut-out, in conjunction with the space provided by the vshortened end of the closure, affords adequate space for the cartridge belt to pass Vfrom the box. f p

The design of the box and the frame is such that the box is inserted through. the end of the frame opposite to that end from which withdrawal of the cartridge belt from the box ,and frame takes place whereby the pull of the cartridge belt on the box, when the belt is being fed to the breech, is against the permanent stop members of the frame comprising elements 48 and member 42 on the end of the base. plate. Thus, the pull of the belt will not dislodge the box from the frame.

The magazine described Ain the foregoing. is adapted to be used on a reversible feed type machine gun and to this end the design, dimensions, and arrangement of the component parts of the frame I0 are such that the frame may be reversed on the breech casingr I 2 by removing bolts I6 and rotating the frame in a horizontal plane degrees, following which, the ears 28 may be bolted to the side plates I4 of the breech casing by the bolts I6 in the manner of attaching illustrated in Fig. 2. With the frame in the `abovedescribed reversed position on` the breech ,casing, the cartridge box will still be insertedfrom the open end of thefralne, which will then be disposed on the opposite side Vof the breech casing from the side `now shown in Fig. l. The cartridge belt will then be in position to befed Vto the feed channel on the opposite side of the breech casing from the side now'containing feed channel I8, and the function of all ofthe associated parts of the magazine will .be the sameas described in connection with the `arrangement shown ,in Fig. 1. i i

While' the base member 38is shown to have ,a

solid bottom, it is to be understood that a conl siderable portion of thecentral part ofthe base member 38 may be removed, thusV leaving horizontal edge strips extending around the perimeter of the base member towhich yare ,joined the upstanding side members 42` and 44.

Primarily, both the roller 34'and the .closure y50 of the box 40 are for purposesoffacilitatillg the ieedLof they cartridge vbeltl to they breechl opening'. Int using. certain. types. ofv belts, either the roller' or they closure' onI both may be found to ttesunnecessary.' Thus,A such: cases, the roller and/for closure may bezelminated from` the combined structure: if such elimination s found desirable..

l Itwilb thus: be.1 seen thatv the present invention provides a. very compact magazine arranged directly below' the/breech casing of a machine or'l other-similar automatic firearm. The magazine has; a boxk to` hold an adequate number of cartridges, the number depending upon .thef sizer ofi the box.` The cartridges may be directly'fedf totheffeed'i channelfin the breech casing: of" the gun without twisting the belt and in a manner which will reduce the possibili-ty of jamming; of' thebelt during feeding to a minimum. The present magazine is preferably designed to hold a belt containing about 100 rounds of ammunition but the design lends itself to holding belts of smaller or greater number of cartridges than this.

While the invention has Ibeen illustrated and described in its preferred embodiment and has included certain details, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A magazine for an automatic firearm having a breech casing and a transverse feed channel, said magazine comprising a cartridge box adapted to hold a belt of cartridges, a bail member attachable to the breech casing of said firearm, a base member connected to the lower portion of said bail when in operative position on said breech casing and arranged to support said cartridge box, and an antifriction roller rotatably supported by said bail and adapted to be engaged by a cartridge feed belt in passing to the feed channel of said firearm.

2. A magazine for an automatic firearm having a breech casing and a feed channel extending transversely therethrough, said magazine comprising in combination, a pair of bails respectively arranged to be connected at their free ends to opposite sides of said breech casing and depend therefrom substantially parallelly to each other and below said feed channel, a base member supported by the lower portions of said bails and between the legs thereof, said base member extending between said bails and opposite ends thereof respectively projecting beyond said bails and the opposite sides of said breech casing, a cartridge box removably mounted on said base member and between the legs of each bail, stops projecting upward from said base member adjacent said opposite ends thereof and respectively arranged to engage opposite ends of and maintain said box in operative position on said base member and prevent accidental removal of said box from between said bails, and an additional stop carried by one of said bails above that one of said first-mentioned stops on "said base which is nearest the entrance end of said feed channel, said additional stop being engageable with one side wall of said box, whereby a cartridge belt may be fed through said feed channel from said box and said additional stop will prevent the pull of the belt on said box from dislodging said box from its operative position -withinsai'ct bails and between said: lfirst-mentionedstops'zN A y 3;. magazine for. an. automatic rearm having? al breech casing and? aa feed channelv extending transversely therethrough., said magazine comprising; in combination, a, pair of. bails respectively arranged.` toV be connected at their free ends toi opposite: sides of saidl breech casing and dependl therefrom. substantially parallellyto each other.' and below said; feed. channel,V a basemembe'rsupporteda by'the: lower portions of said'. bails and between the legslthfereof,v said base member extending: between. said bails and` oppositev ends thereof respectively projecting beyond. said bails and the opposite: sides of said breech casing, a cartridge; box removably mounted on said base member and between the legs of each baill, stops projecting; upward from said base member adjacent. said opposite' ends thereof and respectively arranged to engage opposite ends of and maintain said box in operative position on said base member and prevent accidental removal of said vbox from between said bails, the stop projecting from the end of said base member farthest from the entrance of the feed channel extending upward a shorter distance than the other stop to facilitate movement of the cartridge box thereover to and from operative position on said base member, and an additional stop carried by one of said bails and arranged above the highest stop on said base, said additional stop being engageable with one wall of said box, whereby a cartridge belt may be fed through said feed channel from said box and said additional stop will prevent the pull of the belt on said box from dislodging said box from its operative position within said bails and between said first-mentioned stops.

4. A magazine for an automatic rearm having a breech casing and a feed channel extending transversely therethrough, said magazine comprising in combination, a pair of bails respectively arranged to be connected at their free ends to opposite sides of said breech casing and depend therefrom substantially parallelly to each other and below said feed channel, a base member supported by the lower portions of said bails and between the legs thereof, said base member extending between said bails and opposite ends thereof respectively projecting beyond said bails and the opposite sides of said breech casing, a cartridge box removably mounted on said base member and between the legs of each bail, stops projecting upward from said base member adjacent said opposite ends thereof and respectively arranged to engage opposite ends of and maintain said box in operative position on said base member and prevent accidental removal of said box from between said bails, a pair of bars respectively carried by the legs of said bails on opposite sides of said cartridge box, said bars terminating at one end in an additional stop arranged above that one of said first-mentioned stops on said base which is nearest the entrance end of said feed channel and engageable with one side wall of said box, whereby a cartridge belt may be fed through said feed channel from said box and said additional stop will prevent the pull of the belt on said box from dislodging said box from its operative positio-n within said bails and between said firstmentioned stops.

5. A magazine for an automatic firearm having a breech casing and a feed channel extending transversely therethrough, said magazine comprising in combination, a pair of bails respectively arranged to be connected at their free ends to opposite sides of said breech casing janddepend therefrom substantially parallelly to each other andbelow said feed channel, a base member supported by the lower portions of said bails and between the legs thereof, said base member extending between said bails and opposite ends lthereof respectively projecting beyond said bails extending upward av shorter distance than the other stop to facilitate movement of` the cartridge box thereover to and from operative position on said base member, a pair of bars respectively carried. by the llegs of said bails on opposite sides of said cartridge box to further facilitate said movement of said cartridge box, said bars terminating at one end in anvadditional stop arranged above the'highest stop on said base, said additional stop being engageable with one side wall of said box, whereby a cartridge belt maybe fed through said feed channel from said box and said additional stop will prevent the pull of the belt on said box from dislodgig said box from its operative position within said bails and between said first-mentioned stops.

GEORGE IRONSlDE. 

